Paved In Gold
by 1 Akatsuki Member
Summary: Kira kills those he deems unworthy of life. But a mysterious detective known only as L becomes determined to put a stop to his reign. But, what if Matt wasn't so underdeveloped? What if L didn't die? What if Beyond Birthday wasn't killed by Kira while imprisoned for previous crimes? Death Note, as you decide.


**CHAPTER ONE: And So It Begins...**_** (Status: Unfinished for now D: sorry ill update soon)  
**_A/N: I do not write all the characters, I only write Matt. Mello is a little OOC because my Mello writer is lazy right now. Apologies.  
**A/N 2: This story takes place in an AU where L, Mello, and Near are working on the case all at the same time, trying to beat each other to it. BB is also in here later as well, and yeah. Just a what-if, alternate ending thing.**

In a random apartment of no particular location, Mello had decided his hatred of Near was distracting him from what was truly important: thinking about his hatred of Near. Well, it wasn't so much hatred as it was a rivalry. He was better than him, _all_ of them Matt, Near, _L_, Beyond. God, it was so stupid that any of them even existed still. He cocked the chamber of his gun and whipped it out in front of him, firing holes in the apartment walls.

"Ya know... I didn't come all the way out here so you could put holes in innocent walls." Matt took a long drag of his cigarette and exhaled, blowing rings. He put his hands into his pockets and glanced at the damage through his yellow-tinted goggles. "Mello, Mello, you really do have issues."

The _red-head_, thank you very much, sat down on the dilapidated sofa in the room, kicking his boots up onto a low coffee table. Reaching into his vest, he pulled out a bar of chocolate, fanning them out like cards in his hand and revealing two more behind it before tossing them on the table as well. "Here, I brought you some chocolate, so you can untwist your panties."

_Untwist my... Why you-_ Mello's eye twitched as he clenched his fist tightly, throwing the empty gun aside. Matt was an important asset to his plans, an annoying one but assets nonetheless, although back talk was not something that Mello agreed to deal with. Still, if being number one mean working with him, so be it. He'd stomach his pride... for now.

Sitting down, the blonde grabbed the gifts and opened one, taking a large and loud bite of it. "You're late."

"Yeah, yeah, you can thank me later."

_What a fool, that's primo chocolate! Just who does he think he is?_

Matt bit back an insult and got cozy on the couch, throwing his arms behind his head and puffing on his cigarette. "Look, Mells, Im gonna be honest with ya, you're kinda annoying sometimes, the way you're always bitchin' at me."

"Annoying is in his name, his real one that is. It's quite common and usual to hear."

Near said as he let himself into the apartment quick a bobby pin between his index and middle finger that soon disappeared into his pants pocket. It was still black and unused, seemingly as if he'd originally planned on picking the lock, but it was never needed. He was half hunched over with both hands in his pockets now, his half curled, pale white hair a mess and big dark eyes gazing almost boredly around the apartment.

"I'd prefer using the word 'vexatious' to describe him, but he wouldn't be able to comprehend a word like that so easily."

_Vex...what now? What was that, some kind of sex code?_ Matt was a good hacker, an excellent gamer, and sometimes a better shot than even Mello; when it came to genius, though, he was nothing compared to Near or L..or Mello, sadly. Shaking his head, Matt waited, eagerly, for the blow up from Mello. "Yo, Near, sup?"

Mello wished his gun had been more carefully loaded, still he supposed he could hit Near over the head with it, should push come to shove. His right eye twitched in rage, hands forming into fists, the chocolate bar snapping in half. "I don't believe I let you in... _Near_."

He glared, shoving his hands into his pockets, lord knows how they fit in such tight pants, leaning back cockily. "Get tired of being runner-up?"(edited)

"No, but I smelled something pretty vile and toxic coming from this direction and it was starting to stain my computer screen, so I came out here to clean it up."

Near pulled out a small packet of alcohol swabs from his other pocket and showed it off to Mello with an indifferent look on his face.

Okay, that was an insult that even Matt felt. He looked down at his vest and pulled it out a bit, sniffing. Nope, it wasn't him. That meant only Mello could be the source of the stink. Walking over to him, he stood behind Mello and took a quick sniff. _No, nothing here either..._ "Just what are you getting at here? There's no stink at all."

He was a defense attorney with no client, and not a clue how a courtroom was supposed to work.

"Stink? _Stink_?" Mello, shoved Matt off of him and to the side, marching right over to Near and shoving his finger down in his facial direction. "You think you've got a lot of balls dont you, coming down here and mocking me? What happened to 'Im going to stop Kira first", huh? Given up so easily, or are you here because you need something- like always? Pathetic."

**Ryuk || Near****Last Wednesday at 3:31 PM**

"At least you're not as dumb as you look. On rare occasions."

He commented before walking past Mello into the room, standing in the middle to get a good feel of the layout of the small apartment. "I have a lead on the Kira case. I need to know if you're in or not. Otherwise, telling you the information I have on me would just be useless."

_Information on the Kira Case? Leads?_ Matt knew they were both trying to solve it at the same time but there was no way they could possibly be competing against each other. Could there? Damn Mello and his competitive nature, he'd never beat Near. Not without help, no, an army. Matt adjusted his goggles and pulled them off, resting them around his neck. _Still, if Mello can put aside his rivalry and grudge against Near… This could be solved that much faster._

This was just like those choose your path video games, where every decision- big or small- had an impact. What you said or did affected those around you and influenced how the level went. Whatever Mello chose to do, could alter the situation entirely. But, like a choose a path game, there was always one NPC there to sway the players opinion, push him into a making a choice. That person was Matt.

"What do think, Mello? I can hide a body that small, no problem, but if he really _does_ have information you can shut Kira down for good. I think you should listen." Matt, unlike Mello, had no issues with Near. There was no petty rivalry, no desire to show him up, just… Nothing. He literal had no hatred nor love of him. Sure, the smarts of that guy freaked him out more than L himself, but with great genius there seemed to come a great price. Like proper dieting, posture, and…_whatever Mello was_.

_What I __**think**_ _is that you should fall down in a hole and die!_ Mello growled mentally, glaring daggers at Matt. "Stay out of this, this is between me and this shit over here!" Looking back over to the stupid, ridiculous, envy-inspiring Near, Mello cracked his knuckles and adjusted his short, fingerless leather gloves, puffing out the fur on his large, stylish jacket. He always did go too far; fashion was no exception. From his shirtless vest, to his tight leather pants, down to his tall and thick boots: Mello was dressed to kill. Whether he killed Near finally was still being decided on.

But,on one hand, Matt actually had a point. If Near did have some information, something he had missed. Let's face it, he hadn't exactly found out much other than the book, but even that was just a theory, so if Near had something. Maybe. Maybe, he could...use it against him! _Nyeheheh… Brat won't even know what hit him!_

Walking over to Near he crossed his arms and popped a hip, blowing a strand of honey-blonde hair from his blue eyes. "You have five minutes. Speak."

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember telling you that I would so easily spill the information openly without any bit of security towards where filters should be set up."

Near challenged as he slowly straightened his back, just slightly though, so he wasn't completely hunched over. He turned to face Mello, eyes staring up at the taller figure before him. His metallic gray eyes pierced into the sea of blue of his opponent's, minding not the position they were in. Mello's extremely unnecessary and dramatic pose was exasperating, making Near momentarily question why he stuck around this boy in the first place.

But he remained silent after his comment, taking one hand out of his pocket and curling a lock of his hair around his index finger repeatedly, something he did when he was thinking ratherly deeply on a subject matter or speaking of it. Mello wasn't to say a true dumbass. He had his moments when he could be a good asset to a team of detectives, as he was more of the public figure kind of person while Near was more likely to remain in the shadows. He didn't care much if Mello received any sort of attention on him, but secretly, what he _didn't_ want, was for Kira to set eyes on him. It would jeopardize his few years of research that could account for at least 10 years of the police's records.

_Of course, leave it to Near to have some sort of crazy precautions regarding the information…_

"If that's the case, why offer it at all? You obviously knew this room wasn't equipped properly the second you walked in. No- knowing you, _before_ that." Matt shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out a handheld gaming device, flicking the top half open and starting it up. He didn't turn his brain on like this often, hating having to keep up the appearance. It was much easier to simply sit back and let Mello call all the shots, make all the plans. _What trick do you have up your sleeve…_

Near was never without a plan, even if he was bullshitting things the entire time. He'd at least know how to bullshit properly without the concern of whether his lie was concealed well enough to let slide by or not. He could very well tell the truth but make it appear as a lie that he was telling.

That was the best part about emotions; they could be controlled and manipulated to anyone's desires, just to manipulate the minds around you. Negative emotions portrayed the better results when he wanted something, probably why he was usually poking Mello's buttons. It was more effective than saying 'please' or being nice to the opposite party.

Continuing to play with his hair for a moment with his eyes directly staring at Matt and his head bent down just slightly enough to cause for a dark glint to appear in Near's eyes for a split second, he blinked and removed his finger from around his hair. Matt was definitely no idiot, he might as well be the bigger asset to the team in comparison to Mello, but both of them together could account for quite a bit. His plans couldn't be exposed so easily like this. Near would give them just a small trinket of what he needed from them. "I have my reasons. Your interest in this case is evident in your eyes, both of you. Need I say anymore and it'll jeopardize your brains into incomprehensible scattered neurons of nothing but information, facts, and theories that you'll make no sense of unless in a more stable environment."

"You callin' me an idiot?" He flicked his eyes up from his screen and stared at Near. It seemed his interest in what Near knew had shown even though he had tried to conceal it. He knew Mello was trying his hardest at the moment to stop himself from destroying the only person who could throw him a bone on this case. Then again, perhaps they knew something that Near himself didn't know. They did, after all, have their own ways of finding things out.

Taking the situation in his own hands, to spare Near from Mello's more frequent rage fits, Matt took over the position of leader. The red-head, toyed with his goggles and used his other hand to continue gaming. _If I act swiftly, I can stop any attack from Mello before it starts. But, it has to be calculated, he's already on edge as it is. One false move..._

"No one could possibly hear what you would say, this place is practically abandoned, its more of a scrap heap than an apartment, and was chosen specifically for that. Besides, we all know you won't just leave like that, not after you traveled all the way down here. You never leave that stupid screen of yours without a reason. I mean..." He looked up from the game, bluff in full action. "Tell me I'm wrong?"

Mello was somewhat thankful for Matt, the only one who could manage to keep him calm half of the time. He sat his ass on the couch and spun his empty gun around his finger. It was true, Near hardly ever did anything in person, besides bug Mello. There had to be a reason for this outing. "Like I said, five minutes or you're on your own."

Not that he planned to be a help in the case anyways, he was only curious.

"One would _think_ that no one was spying around the area because it's abandoned, but this apartment you're in right now belonged to a man who had a rather intense obsession with technology and the coding behind personalized computers, cameras, and security systems. He was evicted for being the mastermind behind a large scale robbery down the road." If either of the boys were smart enough to listen to what Near had said, they'd take the hint that was clear as day as to why he won't say anything in this particular apartment. In fact, Near was three steps ahead of them.

He'd found a different abandoned apartment just three streets down, very similar to this one but it was more secure, belonged to one person prior to now, a homeless man who was long gone now, decided living in an apartment wasn't his thing and went to a local shelter instead. died of old age, no felony records, clean history, no drugs or anything. Shockingly clean man, at least to Near.

"What?" _No, that couldn't be.._ Was it possible that he had overlooked something while he was looking into this place? _So.. This is what failure feels like, huh?_ He was feeling pretty bad for Mello now, understanding how coming in as second best could change someone. The red-head scratched his head awkwardly and put his game away. "So, I missed a thing or two."

"Alright, we'll move, but how do we know this isn't some kinda trap, huh? No word from you or anyone else, all of a sudden you're invitin' us to tea?" _There has to be a motive...There's always a motive. After all, even Zelda had her secret reasons for helping Link as Sheik…_(edited)

Who the fuck did Matt think he was, giving orders like that? Mello leapt to his feet, growling. Near couldnt just waltz in here and crush them under his thumb like that. He worked hard to get the connections he made, to convince Matt to help him find Kira _first_! If working with Near was the only way he could do that, then he'd just have to go find his own way.

"You stupid freak, Near! Go play with your puzzles, we're busy hear and don't need you or your dumb little 'plans'. So beat it!"

Near stared at Mello for a moment, finding the blow up extremely late, but he'd predicted at least 4 different times when Mello would have blown up on him. This was the third time he'd predicted. Shocking, even for the hot headed chocolate lover. "It took you a while to finally get those gears working in that brain of yours. You almost had be surprised, Mello."

A creepy little smile curled around the corner of Near's lips, twitching them up, his eyes holding a dark smirk in them. He knew he had Mello in the bag, he just needed to seal it shut and toss it over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. There was no way Mello was going to toss this opportunity away. A slim 14% that he'd back out completely, but that was if Near didn't play his cards right, and from the looks of it, he was playing it pretty well. "Shame really. I was able to find a CI to make me custom made bullets for your gun. It's a Berette 92FS, isn't it?"

"_Beretta_ 92fs." Mello scowled, the idea itself was tempting. So, so tempting. Near wasn't one to lie in a situation where it would waste nothing but time. If he said he had bullets, he had bullets. The one thing Mello was low on... _Damn, you Near; You and your ridiculous planning!_

The blonde tightening his hands into fists, throwing his gun aside. This was stupid, so stupid that he would come in _next_ to Near on ranked scale. If anything he should be above! Number one! What did Near have that he didn't? Fuck this whole, 'replace L' thing. He was better than both of them!

Breaking off a piece of chocolate with his mouth again he stopped to think for once, tossing Wild Card Mello to the wind momentarily. He could take this information and run. Him and Matt could solve this themselves after ridding themselves fo Near. Then he could off Matt before he got in the way of Mello being number one.

"...Show it to me, then." He muttered, bitterly. He wouldnt admit to wanting to see it and give Near that much more satisfaction.

This cleverly decided moment in time was when L decided to call Matt's computer. He knew sooner or later that the three of them would be meeting up. Matt and Mello had been nearly inseparable after the blonde idiot's last break down, and Near was never one to avoid a potential asset to a case. But, L wouldn't go so far as to call the white-haired boy the 'better L' between the two. It was _together_ that they made the best team. Matt... was Matt. In all honesty, had he decided to stop being so lazy and instant-gratification orientated, he would have made the best L out of them...at 95%, that is.

The screen of the open laptop went black before flashing white, with a large appearing on it in black. He, as always, had his typical voice distortion on: an overlapping male and female voice that would change pitch every so often. There was no possibility that Mello, Near, or Matt would betray him, but if anyone was listening in... well, the odds weren't too in their favor. Especially if it were Kira.

_**"Greetings, Near, Matt, Mello. I'm just," The audio went silent save for a few cake slurping noises and the clink of a fork against a plate,"Calling to check in and let you know that I have found some information, regarding the Kira case that you would find... interesting."**_(edited)

Near gazed over at the computer screen with a curt nod of his head. He had his suspicions that L would call at some point but his timing couldn't have been better. The man was smart, that was for sure. The pale haired boy calculated more than a 75% probability that L knew the three of them would be meeting up at some point like this. "We'll be switching to a more secure location soon. Watari already sent me the necessary information this morning."

He relayed this information aloud more so that Mello and Matt would be aware, since L already knew about this. Near curled a finger around his pale hair, just a lock of it being messed with.

Was L...spying on them? Well, it was L. The question answered itself just fine. Matt glanced at Near and Mello. Near was unsurprising at the sudden call and handled it quite well. It was Mello and his need to get pissed off every time L did something cool that worried him. Luckily, he had busied his toxic mouth with the primo chocolate and was too occupied to yell or spit.

The red-head pulled his goggles on like a headband and fidgeted with the top of his handheld, flicking it open and shut, There were many ways to go about this and the lazy part of him just wanted to go with the flow. Still, there was no way Mello would be okay with that and he didn't want to drag the blonde kicking and screaming.

"I'm assuming you are already there?"

_**"Naturally,"**_ He said in his calm monotone manner. There was no need to go into lengthy explanations, explaining something that was clearly already common knowledge. There was the clatter of a plate moving on a flat surface and the sounds of a chair being pushed in more, feet thupping against the padded base. _**"But, you knew that already."**_

_**Time skip brought to you by Beyond Birthday's Socks With Sandals:**_

**Matt had, after a long and heated argument, convinced Mello to hear Near out. After a smug comment from the fair-haired boy, and a few biting insults from the leather-clad and totally not a gay stripper blonde, the three of them made their way to the new location. L, who made his appearance through a computer call as per usual, was accompanied by Watari who had brought the electronic with him. The two men had been waiting patiently for the planned arrival and were thankful it had taken .25 seconds less than expected. It seemed, L thought, Matt would prove himself valuable yet.**

**(To be continued...)**


End file.
